Excess zinc increases likelihood of prostate cancer

[Lazy 8]

There are many posts here on the PE Gym website suggesting zinc as a desirable supplement to improve sexual health. The research does not support that. Rather than copy a link, I'm including a short article by a sports medicine physician, Gabe Mirkin, that gives an overview of zinc supplementation. If you choose to take zinc, don't take more than 100 mg/day. If you take zinc from multiple sources (drinks, supplements, multi-vitamins), make sure they don't add up to more than that amount. Here's the article:

ZINC CAUSES PROSTATE CANCER?

Gabe Mirkin, M.D.

A study from the National Cancer Institutes shows that taking more than 100 mg of zinc supplements a day doubles a man's chances of developing advanced prostate cancer (1). There are hundreds of products on the market today that contain zinc and they are advertised to help treat the prostate, help prevent prostate cancer, help treat an enlarged prostate, treat impotence, increase sexuality, increase ejaculation volume, and make a man more potent. All of these claims are unsupported by scientific data, and now a study in the most prestigious cancer journal in the world, The Journal of the National Cancer Institute, shows that men who take more than 100 mg a day of zinc double their risk for advanced prostate cancer. Men who took zinc supplements for 10 years or more also doubled their risk for prostate cancer.

In the United States, 10 percent of men who take zinc supplements take 2 to 3 times more than the recommended 11 mg of zinc per day. Not only have zinc supplements not been shown to help your prostate and sexuality, this study shows that excessive amounts of zinc may cause prostate cancer. Now we have to ask why there is a myth that zinc prevents prostate disease. The prostate contains the highest concentration of zinc of any tissue in the body. Semen contains the highest concentration of zinc of all body secretions. Because of this, many men take zinc supplements, even though there is no evidence that taking zinc can treat impotence, or prostate enlargement or cancer.

Sellers of zinc supplements base their recommendations to take zinc on studies from Egypt and Iran that show that boys who are deprived of zinc do not develop normal sexual characteristics. However, zinc deficiency is rare in North America, and no one has shown that taking more than the recommended amount of zinc increases sexuality. A recent analysis of supplements promoted for prostate health in Canada shows that most contain vitamins and other herbals that do not offer any proven benefit to the prostate (2). For example, there is little evidence that any vitamin treats prostate infections, impotence, prostate cancer, enlarged prostate or any other prostate malfunction. There is good data that lack of vitamin D may increase a man's chances of developing prostate cancer, so if you do not get plenty of sunshine or have dark skin, you may want to take a vitamin D supplement.

1) Journal of the National Cancer Institute, July, 2003.

2) The Journal of Urology, July 2002.

[C.Phantasy]

Is this related to the myth "Testosterone causes Prostata Cancer"?

[Lazy 8]

Is this related to the myth "Testosterone causes Prostata Cancer"?

Haven't heard that one. It sounds like it's right up there with "having a prostate increases the likelihood of having prostate cancer."

[Larger]

I'll explain this with a link.
You can die from excess water.

I'm sure I could make an article online and have it the top hit when you type in cancer to a search engine (easier than it sounds), to make people fear oxygen.

Saying do not take in more than 100mg of zinc/day is a high order, and I will dive into this when I get back from the store and have some food. I'm not the average and do not consume average anything. So I disregard many things that say daily serving (unless prescriptions).

Anything in excess isn't good for you. I haven't read your article or began to dig into zinc and possible side effects. I'll look into this some after I get back and finish my research into VigRx as I promised.

[Lazy 8]

I'll explain this with a link.
You can die from excess water.

I'm sure I could make an article online and have it the top hit when you type in cancer to a search engine (easier than it sounds), to make people fear oxygen.

Saying do not take in more than 100mg of zinc/day is a high order, and I will dive into this when I get back from the store and have some food. I'm not the average and do not consume average anything. So I disregard many things that say daily serving (unless prescriptions).

Anything in excess isn't good for you. I haven't read your article or began to dig into zinc and possible side effects. I'll look into this some after I get back and finish my research into VigRx as I promised.

Of course you can die from excess water, and it happens fairly often. I think you should do what ever you want - disregard the research, take your chances - but that's your individual decision. There are a lot of members and lurkers on the Gym website who need to see the conclusions of scientific research that has been done on zinc. Personally, I'm limiting my intake to 100 mg/day.

[W.M.P.]

I think limiting your intake to 100mg is perfectly reasonable. My main reason for taking Zinc is to replenish what is lost by way of putting your body through the Zinc-depleting grinder in terms of overall stress (hectic job, hardcore fitness routine, regular sex/masturbation, etc). I first started taking Zinc here and there many years back with the premise that it helps your immune system. Then while living in New Orleans about 10yrs ago, I saw the 1st article on ZMA and decided to give it a try. I was working out like a champ about 5 mornings a week and working my ass off in the evenings like a mule at one of the busiest (if not THE busiest) venues in the French Quarter, putting my body through hell as a bus-boy and every morning I would wake up still feeling the beating I had given my body the previous day. I started taking ZMA as directed and the results were immediate; I would wake up WAY more rested and refreshed and fully recovered from the previous day's beating on my body, and my morning wood was off the freaking charts day in and day out. These days, between my Multi-Vitamin and my Zinc caps, I take in a total of 65mg and I feel great.

[kingpole]

There are many posts here on the PE Gym website suggesting zinc as a desirable supplement to improve sexual health. The research does not support that. Rather than copy a link, I'm including a short article by a sports medicine physician, Gabe Mirkin, that gives an overview of zinc supplementation. If you choose to take zinc, don't take more than 100 mg/day. If you take zinc from multiple sources (drinks, supplements, multi-vitamins), make sure they don't add up to more than that amount. Here's the article:

ZINC CAUSES PROSTATE CANCER?

Gabe Mirkin, M.D.

A study from the National Cancer Institutes shows that taking more than 100 mg of zinc supplements a day doubles a man's chances of developing advanced prostate cancer (1). There are hundreds of products on the market today that contain zinc and they are advertised to help treat the prostate, help prevent prostate cancer, help treat an enlarged prostate, treat impotence, increase sexuality, increase ejaculation volume, and make a man more potent. All of these claims are unsupported by scientific data, and now a study in the most prestigious cancer journal in the world, The Journal of the National Cancer Institute, shows that men who take more than 100 mg a day of zinc double their risk for advanced prostate cancer. Men who took zinc supplements for 10 years or more also doubled their risk for prostate cancer.

In the United States, 10 percent of men who take zinc supplements take 2 to 3 times more than the recommended 11 mg of zinc per day. Not only have zinc supplements not been shown to help your prostate and sexuality, this study shows that excessive amounts of zinc may cause prostate cancer. Now we have to ask why there is a myth that zinc prevents prostate disease. The prostate contains the highest concentration of zinc of any tissue in the body. Semen contains the highest concentration of zinc of all body secretions. Because of this, many men take zinc supplements, even though there is no evidence that taking zinc can treat impotence, or prostate enlargement or cancer.

Sellers of zinc supplements base their recommendations to take zinc on studies from Egypt and Iran that show that boys who are deprived of zinc do not develop normal sexual characteristics. However, zinc deficiency is rare in North America, and no one has shown that taking more than the recommended amount of zinc increases sexuality. A recent analysis of supplements promoted for prostate health in Canada shows that most contain vitamins and other herbals that do not offer any proven benefit to the prostate (2). For example, there is little evidence that any vitamin treats prostate infections, impotence, prostate cancer, enlarged prostate or any other prostate malfunction. There is good data that lack of vitamin D may increase a man's chances of developing prostate cancer, so if you do not get plenty of sunshine or have dark skin, you may want to take a vitamin D supplement.

1) Journal of the National Cancer Institute, July, 2003.

2) The Journal of Urology, July 2002.

Who paid for this research?
100mg of zinc is way to much anyway. Everytime you ejaculate you lose some zinc. So if your not ejaculating on a regular basis you could develop a problem. Zinc and vitamin "C" make testosterone more efficient.

25mg to 50mg is enough cycle off two days per week. The Zinc in multivitamins is malabsorbed competeing with magnesium. So you may not be getting your 15mg from it.

Vitamin D is linked to a lot of issues including some forms of cancer. Vitamin "D" helps raise testosterone levels a bit.

[kingpole]

Of course you can die from excess water, and it happens fairly often. I think you should do what ever you want - disregard the research, take your chances - but that's your individual decision. There are a lot of members and lurkers on the Gym website who need to see the conclusions of scientific research that has been done on zinc. Personally, I'm limiting my intake to 100 mg/day.

You should supplenent no more than 26-50mg per day. You do get zinc in a lot of foods. I actually feel that this research is flawed in favor of selling prostate drugs. Has anyone tried Saw Palmetto for prostate issues?

[epsilon]

Here is the link ZINC CAUSES PROSTATE CANCER?.

Just don't consume to much zinc, it is also proven that deficiency in zinc will promote prostate cancer. Zinc and Prostate Cancer, Prostate cancer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ,
The link between zinc deficiency and cancer has now been established by human, animal, and cell culture studies. We also know that zinc status is compromised in cancer patients compared to healthy people. Oxidative DNA damage and chromosome breaks have been reported in animals fed a zinc-deficient diet. In rats, dietary zinc deficiency causes an increased susceptibility to tumor development when the rats are exposed to carcinogens.

Links Between Prostate Cancer, Cadmium And Zinc Investigated,
In an article published in the February 2008 journal, The Prostate, epidemiologist Edwin van Wijngaarden, Ph.D., reports that PSA levels were 22 percent higher among American men who had zinc levels below the median (less than 12.67 mg/daily) and cadmium levels above the median. (PSA is a protein produced by the cells of the prostate gland. The higher a man's PSA level, the more likely cancer is present.)

Just take the preferred amount.

[Larger]

Keep in mind, that the body does not absorb all of the ingredients from supplements taken; generally it's about 20-30% of the supplements you take are absorbed. There are more expensive supplements that have an ingredient in it to trick your body into thinking it's food and so the absorption rate increased to 60 or more percent. This is an average though, everyone is different. For example when I take a 50mg pill of zinc in the morning, what I absorb is around 15mg of that or less. I still have yet to begin diving into this scare about zinc. I didn't feel the need to mention that certain things like ejaculate contain zinc. So if you ejaculate a lot then you probably need more zinc in your body.

I will agree that anything in excess is bad. Knowing how much of anything you put in your body is important, but so is how much you might lose per day.